


From Biarritz with books

by Janyss



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 22:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20379106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janyss/pseuds/Janyss
Summary: Literature is so, so good when your lover is sent away...





	From Biarritz with books

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notjustmom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/gifts), [Vulpesmellifera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vulpesmellifera/gifts).

> Thank you so much for my beta reader, Notjustmom! She highlighted the feelings of our dearest characters with her suggestions! And thanks for the contact!  
Written for the prompt "Book" of our FB page, Mystrade is our division.

FROM BIARRITZ WITH BOOKS

Everything was absolutely normal in this day of never-ending summer in 221b Baker Street. John was reading his newspaper and paid little attention when he heard Mrs Hudson screaming downstairs, just before a nasty beggar who turned out to be Sherlock, entered the sitting room. 

"How was it?", John asked, without even raising an eye from the articles he was reading about the very close Biarritz G7 summit. He tried in vain to see if the photographs showed Mycroft, who had been there since the end of July to help behind the scenes. "Oh, John went on, Greg stopped by with some files and told me he would be in Scotland Yard tomorrow morning. And... He saw a copy of The Canterbury tales and asked if he could borrow it. I let him... He looked so happy to find it. You don't mind, do you?

-No I don't, but... How strange... Didn't know about this interest in medieval litterature! Lonely nights... High time he found someone else, his divorce was long ago, now!"

The morning after, John entered Greg's office to find it empty. A few minutes later, a DI out of his breath ran into the room. He had a book in his hands, something he had obviously just bought in a bookshop, that he cradled protectively.

"Sherlock had to meet one of his beggars. Adichie?" John added after seeing the book. "You have very diverse tastes in books these days!

-Oh, Greg evaded, we may have a case involving Nigerians, so that's out of curiosity..."

-Fine", Sherlock cut abruptely, suddenly popping up in the office. "Tell us about that so-called ghost in the machine."

John, however, was really more than puzzled. He vaguely listened to Sherlock's solution to the case, but glanced at Greg's desk. An envelope caught his attention. According to the stamps, it came from France. It had been torn open very quickly, which was not Greg's usual style. John could only see a piece of paper, with small holes in them. 

"Sherlock, he asked just after they left, did you notice ..

-Yes, I did, Sherlock grumbled. My brother's letter from Biarritz, with the code paper. He must get fed up with his meetings. He's preparing sheets for a specific book. The holes match with letters, or words, on particular pages. You put the paper on the right page and you can read the message. Boring. In addition, I don't understand why Mycroft wants Gabriel to handle me again.

-Do you think that's the reason...

-Why would he write to him otherwise?"

John nodded, but something still didn't sit right with him. He had seen the policeman's happiness in front of the first book, and after buying the second one. Without really knowing why, he decided not to mention his feeling to Sherlock.

A few days after, however, John sneacked into Greg's office, while the policeman was on a crime scene with Sherlock. He had found a pretext to leave his friends and began searching single the desk. But a book was the one and only interesting thing that could be seen.

"A Christmas carol. In August. Right. Fine."

John was about to leave, when the postman entered and handed him another envelope from France. 

He opened the envelope and indeed found a bunch of hole-punched breached sheets, with Dickens's title and digits on them. He began matching everything with the book and reading. The sentences filled with "Miss you", "Kiss you", "want to be in your arms", "love you", and other much more explicit topics, soon left no room for any doubt about the reasons of this correspondence and about the true nature of the relationship between the two men.

"John!"

Greg, who had just come in, snapped, and John dropped the book and the papers. The resulting paper blizzard seemed to make a halo on the ground around the two men.

"My idea, Greg whispered after a silence. He's been there for so long... And it's far from over... I miss him, you can't even imagine. We... we've realised that there was this spark between us... well, just before that Eurus mess. Even this couldn't split us, so I guess it's serious for him, too. I can't believe Sherlock was completely blind to it. We planned to tell him after that damn Biarritz summit. Can you keep the secret until then? John... I can't tell you how happy I am, how good...

-OK. Let's keep it here! I've read and heard enough, and won't tell Sherlock a word, I promise!"

He left a very relieved Greg. In the evening, he tried his best to hide the impact of his discovery, but Sherlock seemed relieved, too.

"You know what? I have the feeling Gavin is beginning to resist my brother. No handling like before, or may be he's been really interested in Mycroft's advice for books!"


End file.
